musings on the burned bits of life

Berry Beet Banana Nice Cream

Breakfast has never been my favorite meal. Don’t get me wrong, all the foods associated with breakfast are amazing. I just wish breakfast came later, preferably after I’ve had a good amount of sleep.

Just another way to say that I’m one of those people who hit snooze as many times possible before actually being late for work. But I’ve been trying to make an effort to actually eat breakfast because it’s good for you, and it’s the most important meal of the day, yadda, yadda, yadda.

If you’ve searched “#breakfast” on Instagram you have undoubtedly come across smoothie bowls or banana nice cream. They’re bowls of brightly colored food concoctions that are one part açai berry purée and one part alchemy. They’re also so photogenic that it hurts the eye, even through the Juno filter.

Smoothie bowls don’t spark my interest. I’d much rather drink a smoothie than eat it with a spoon. This probably stems from my dislike of cold or chilled soups. Other than ice cream and cereal, things in bowls should be served hot, in my opinion.

But banana nice cream is something I can support. All you do is blend up frozen bananas into a vegan “ice cream,” hence the “nice” in the title since it doesn’t involve any animal products. Regardless if you eat animal products or not, nice cream is a true treat in the morning. I can’t ultimately claim it’s the healthiest thing because fruit has a lot of sugar, even if it’s natural. You might want to pair this with a protein rich, low-sugar granola or cereal on top of the nice cream.

Now you don’t have to use a beet in your nice cream, though it does give you an extra serving of veggies and a seriously cool color for your nice cream. You can use all berries or different fruit, mango is very popular; as is pineapple, and açai berry purée, which apparently is available in health food stores.

Nice cream is a delicious treat of a breakfast or a less guilty dessert.

Berry Beet Banana Nice Cream, makes one serving (inspired by Caitlin Shoemaker, a vegan lifestyle vlogger. Even if you’re not vegan (I’m certainly not) you should follow her on Instagram and YouTube. Caitlin is an amazing cook and will make you want to bring more veggies into your kitchen.)

Ingredients

2 ripe bananas (small or medium), frozen & chopped

1 beet, roasted and peeled & chopped

1/4 cup berries of your choice, washed and drained (I like blackberries and raspberries; save a few for garnish)

2 Tbs. to 1/4 cup water

raw almonds, pumpkin seeds, or other nuts/seeds for garnish (optional)

cereal or granola for garnish (optional)

Method

Blend frozen banana, beet, and berries in a blender until creamy. Add water one tablespoon at a time if you blender is having trouble working through the frozen banana. Stop blending when you’ve reached your desired consistency.

Spoon into a bowl and top with your extra fruit, nuts, and granola.

Snap a picture for Instagram because you know you’re all about that life and enjoy!